US levies new Iran-related sanctions

The U.S. is pursuing sanctions against 18 individuals and other entities for supporting Iran’s ballistic missile program and other factors, including Iran’s "egregious human rights record," the State Department announced Tuesday.

The new sanctions come amid a renewal of the terms of the Iran Nuclear Agreement, which posit that Iran is not in violation of the terms of the deal. Nevertheless, the State Department's statement was critical of the country, detailing several areas of concern outside of the nuclear deal in addition to support for terrorist organizations and the Assad regime.

"The United States remains deeply concerned about Iran’s malign activities across the Middle East which undermine regional stability, security, and prosperity," spokesperson Heather Nauert said in the statement. "Iran continues to support terrorist groups such as Hizballah, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad that threaten Israel and stability in the Middle East. Iran has maintained its steadfast support for the Assad regime, despite Assad’s atrocities against his own people."

"We also note Iran’s continued malign activities outside the nuclear issue undermine the positive contributions to regional and international peace and security that the deal was supposed to provide," the statement continued. "The United States will continue to use sanctions to target those who lend support to Iran’s destabilizing behavior and above all, the United States will never allow the regime in Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon."

Senator Bob Corker (R-T.N.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released a statement in support of the sanctions.

"The administration's actions today clearly demonstrate that President Trump is fully committed to confront the threat from Iran in a strategic and effective way," Corker said.